Salotto Buono

Salotto Buono is the name of a jour fixe that creates a space for regular social and intellectual exchange in Juliane von Herz’s private home in the Westend neighbourhood of Frankfurt.

The term ‘Salotto Buono’, literally a ‘good salon’, describes a traditional closed shop and network of powerful northern Italian industrialists and bankers and carries a clear negative connotation. The appropriation of the term in the context of an intellectual ‘salon’ is indeed ironic. On the one hand, and quite similar to the traditional Salotto Buono, Frankfurt’s Salotto is and should over time become a social network based on mutual interests and common values, just like its namesake. On the other hand, it is an open platform for a very liberal, young, diverse or better heterogeneous and interdisciplinary exchange of ideas between people from all areas of urban Frankfurt life and beyond.

The starting point of each session at the Salotto is the great interest of the hostess and most of the ‘members’ in all things to do with art. The sessions, which take place up to three times a year and sometimes follow an annual theme, have been developed by Juliane von Herz as a standalone ritual since 2008. After an informal chat over a drink, the evening’s speakers give a short talk on a specific topic. Slides serve as a platform for informal discussion, which is coordinated by the hostess. The evenings end with an informal dinner in the kitchen.

2023
‘Personal Public Space’
Lorenz Dexler, Landscape architect, Partner of Topotek1

Tim Etchells, Visual artist, author, performer, leader of the performance group Forced Entertainment:
Speaks about his oeuvre

2019
‘Voices About Europe’

Simon Strauss, Author und FAZ Journalist, Founder of ‘Arbeit an Europa’
Sven Waskönig, Scriptwriter and Producer

2018
‘BORN TO BE WILD?’
The true story behind the German student movement of 1968

Matthias Alexander, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and Juliane v. Herz in conversation with Ulrich Lang, Restorer and Ata Macias, DJ, Musician, Club and Label Founder about OUR generation: the ’68 generation

2016
Dr Mario Kramer, Head of Collection at the Museum of Modern Art, Frankfurt
‘PRIMARY STRUCTURES’, Minimal Art from the MMA collection

Conversation between cultural journalist Cécile Schortmann and the film director Niki Stein

2015
Prof. Bernhard Jussen, Historian:
Contemporary art as politics of memory.
Ten current cases.

2014
Artists//Couples

Wiebke Grösch + Frank Metzger
Sandra Kranich + Jochem Hendricks
in conversation with
Dr Jule Hillgärtner and Prof Christian Janecke

Prof Mischa Bonn, Physicist:
Why God actually rolls the dice, Einstein was wrong, and Bohr was right: A short History of Quantum Mechanics.

2013
Prof Beate Söntgen, Art Historian:
Art criticism: Distance or passion?

Esther Dierkes (Soprano) and Björn Bürger (Baritone) accompanied by Ekaterine Kintsurashvili (Piano):
“Ich will meine Seele tauchen“ Concert with songs and arias.

2012
Vanja Vrsalovic, Architect:
Eurovision 2014 – the new ECB high-rise headquarters by Coop Himmelblau

Martin Neumaier / Hendrik Zimmer, Artists:
Their scholarship trip to Papua Neu Guinea

2011
Björn Wissenbach, Town Historian:
Frankfurt in search of identity – the old town debate

Swantje Karich, Journalist:
Patrol car for the world – French artist Daniel Buren opens our eyes

Detmar Westhoff, Art Consultant:
The Mobile Museum: Masterpieces from European museums travel to Japan

2010
Tamara Grcic, Artist:
Speaks about her Work

Dr. Martin Engler, Curator:
Circus contemporary – The museum between art market and art history

Dr. Felix Krämer, Curator:
The magic of the arena: From the ‘Städel Circus’ to tent construction for the great Ernst Ludwig Kirchner show.

2009
Circus – Annual theme

Patrick von Herz, Economist:
Financial crisis, Globalisation – What a circus!

Julia Scheid, Art Historian:
Panem et Circenses

Michael Stuhlmiller, Clown, Circus Director:
The Clown

2008
Original and Copy: Back to the Original

Antonio Pace, Designer:
‘Branding knowledge’

Dr. Marie-Hélène Gutberlet, Film and Art Historian: Approaches to originality: On the idea of immersion and repetition

Lukas Scheid, Architect:
‘The Barcelona Pavilion’

Markus Weisbeck, Graphic Designer:
Speaks about his Work

Florian Wolf, Lawyer:
The Original

Michael Beye, Architect:
The Copy

Michael Riedel, Artist:
Original or Copy?

Team
Juliane von Herz (*1968), M.A., Curator

Studied art history, German literature and political science at the universities of Munich, Bologna and Frankfurt; prior to this she worked in advertising.

Superkilen Urban Park, Copenhagen, Denmark, Landscape Architecture Topotek 1 in collaboration with BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group and the artist group Superflex, 2008-2011

Shannon Bool, The Weather, 2019, tapestry with embroidery, 220 × 350 cm, Copyright: Shannon Bool

‚Stadt. Land, Europa‘, Filmstill aus der 5-teiligen ARTE-Dokumentation von Sven Waskönig, 2019

Dan Flavin – Two primary series and one secondary series, 1968 (Detail). Sammlung MMK, Frankfurt

Florian Wolf, ‘Das Original’, Handnotiz
Niels Bohr und Albert Einstein bei einer privaten Feier im Haus von Paul Ehrenfest, Leiden 1925